The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by A.N. Roquelare
When I read the Fifty Shades of Gray trilogy eight years ago, several people told me I should read this trilogy. I kept putting it off, and waited until I could get it fairly inexpensively. That was a week or so ago ($1.99 for the whole trilogy!). I just finished the first one.
I'll be honest: as a middle-aged woman, I find myself single again, and am coming at this from a different perspective than I would have had I read this when everyone suggested it. Given that everyone told me it was better than that other trilogy, I expected better. Plus, it's Anne Rice, an author I typically enjoy, so I thought it would be better. I thought it would be racier. I thought so many things and was severely let down on all accounts.
I will continue to read the trilogy in the hope that I will get what I thought I was going to get out of them, but it's not looking very likely.
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Saturday, May 16, 2020
KO Book Club Choice 1
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
We had several options, and this is the one I ended up voting for. I was glad it was the one chosen for my school's online book club. I love Jojo Moyes' work, and this was, I think, the sixth book of hers that I have read.
This one is about a group of women in Kentucky in the 1930s. They are part of a WPA program instituted by Eleanor Roosevelt to create libraries in rural areas. These women would ride out into their communities and take books to the residents. Not everyone was receptive, but most were.
The story, as is, would have been fascinating, but Moyes makes her characters so real and believable.
First, there is Margaery. She is the last surviving member of her family. Allegedly, there is a blood feud between her family and another in the area, which will be important, as she is accused of murdering the patriarch of that family. She has no intentions of marrying her boyfriend, Sven, although he would very much like to marry her. She is content with the status quo and thinks a woman should be in charge of her own life--quite the forward thinker of her time.
Next there is Alice. Alice is from England and married to Bennett Van Cleve, one of the owners of the coal mine in the area. Alice would very much like to have a real marriage with her husband, but her father in law is always up in their business (oh, and there's a good chance her husband is gay). Mr. Van Cleve even went so far as to beat Alice because she didn't live up to his expectations as a daughter in law, so she went to stay with Margaery.
There are several minor characters, and all of them put together made for a fantastic read. I was satisfied at the end, which so seldom happens, it seems.
We had several options, and this is the one I ended up voting for. I was glad it was the one chosen for my school's online book club. I love Jojo Moyes' work, and this was, I think, the sixth book of hers that I have read.
This one is about a group of women in Kentucky in the 1930s. They are part of a WPA program instituted by Eleanor Roosevelt to create libraries in rural areas. These women would ride out into their communities and take books to the residents. Not everyone was receptive, but most were.
The story, as is, would have been fascinating, but Moyes makes her characters so real and believable.
First, there is Margaery. She is the last surviving member of her family. Allegedly, there is a blood feud between her family and another in the area, which will be important, as she is accused of murdering the patriarch of that family. She has no intentions of marrying her boyfriend, Sven, although he would very much like to marry her. She is content with the status quo and thinks a woman should be in charge of her own life--quite the forward thinker of her time.
Next there is Alice. Alice is from England and married to Bennett Van Cleve, one of the owners of the coal mine in the area. Alice would very much like to have a real marriage with her husband, but her father in law is always up in their business (oh, and there's a good chance her husband is gay). Mr. Van Cleve even went so far as to beat Alice because she didn't live up to his expectations as a daughter in law, so she went to stay with Margaery.
There are several minor characters, and all of them put together made for a fantastic read. I was satisfied at the end, which so seldom happens, it seems.
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